BROWN SIGNS IMMIGRANT LICENSE
MEASURE

Document will be specially marked

Unauthorized immigrants in California have secured the privilege of driving legally, but may have to wait at least another year before applying for a license.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Thursday that clears the way for those here illegally to obtain a specially marked driver’s license, but the document will not be accepted as identification to board airplanes, enter federal buildings or collect public benefits.

Now the Department of Motor Vehicles has to lay the groundwork, from establishing the license design to determining whether to levy a surcharge on applicants.

As a result, the DMV is not expected to make the licenses available until fall 2014 at the earliest. The legislation gives the DMV until January 2015 to have the program up and running for the estimated 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants eligible to apply and take the required test.

“When a million people without their documents drive legally and with respect in the state of California, the rest of this country will have to stand up and take notice,” Brown said in a statement issued after signing the bills in ceremonies in Los Angeles and Fresno.

“No longer are undocumented people in the shadows. They are alive and well and respected in the state of California,” he said.

Brown’s signature brings to an end the bitter legislative battles over allowing unauthorized immigrants to drive legally, but the dispute continues on.

“If they are not in our country legally and we give them driver’s licenses, we are basically breaking our federal laws,” said Patricia Bennett, of Citizens of Escondido for Road Safety. “I don’t really feel that people who have broken our laws by coming into the country without permission or overstaying their visas is part of law and order.”

Supporters say it’s a matter of public safety, practicality and a right that should be given to people who they say are contributing to society. Opponents like Bennett say the state should not reward people who are violating the law by being here, contend it could lead to security breaches and that any such program should be part of a congressionally enacted nationwide policy, not done on a state-by-state basis.

The measure does include some safeguards in response to critics, including a distinguishing marker long opposed by advocates of licensing privileges for all.

The new law suggests wording to be stamped on the back of the license: “This card is not acceptable for official federal purposes. This license is issued only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration or public benefits.”

To distinguish the document, the abbreviation “DP” to designate that it is for the driving privilege only would be in front of the actual license number instead of the “DL” abbreviation for driver’s license.

Under Assembly Bill 60, license applicants will be required to provide proof of identity — such as an original birth certificate or a valid passport — and residency — a utility bill, lease or other documentation.

The license design also must be approved by federal officials under the Real ID Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The law may lead to some confusion for business owners. Federal law says they can be penalized for knowingly hiring those here illegally. The federal I-9 work eligibility form states that a driver’s license may be used to verify identity, but not proof of legal residency.

The state law specifically says the license cannot be used for employment eligibility or federal identification purposes.

“AB 60 does nothing to improve public safety. It’s not just a license for illegal immigrants to drive; it’s a license to sue potential employers,” he said.

Insurers says they are waiting for final details to be ironed out, but plan on following the state’s prescribed rate regulations covering all drivers. That includes basing premiums on driving record, years behind the wheel and miles driven, among other factors.

The DMV requires liability insurance in order to register and operate a vehicle in the state.

Since most undocumented immigrants will not have an official record, the new applicants will probably not qualify for good driver discounts, according to Pete Moraga of the Insurance Information Network of California, an industry group.

“It is a competitive market out there,” Moraga said. “There are insurers who specialize in minimum coverage. There are companies that will probably be marketing more heavily.”

Brown must still act on the so-called Trust Act, a measure that would prohibit local police from turning those arrested for relatively minor offenses over to federal authorities for deportation hearings. Passage of the Trust Act is linked to the driver’s license bill, some say, because unauthorized immigrants pulled over could be identified as such by the marker and held for federal immigration agents.

One of those with concerns is Bill Flores, a member of El Grupo and resident of Escondido.

“This indicates to a local officer that a person is undocumented and that is cause for concern that the designation is going to be abused and we are going to have persons turned over to immigration authorities for nothing more than a traffic stop,” Flores said.

The license bill seeks to allay those concerns with language to prohibit the use of the document to “consider an individual’s citizenship or immigration status as a basis for a criminal investigation, arrest, or detention.”

Some critics of the new law and the Trust Act bill oppose anything that would impede law enforcement from turning unauthorized immigrants over to federal authorities.

Eduardo Medina Mora, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., issued a statement saying allowing licenses “creates conditions for immigrants to further contribute to the social and economic development of the state as well as enhancing their integration to the communities where they live.”

Critics say Congress should be the one acting.

“This legislation is a piecemeal approach by California when Congress should be leading the way on this federal issue,” Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, said in a statement. “As Americans, we need to find compassionate, caring solutions to this immigration challenge. The first challenge is to secure our borders; the second challenge is to find a way for people to have legal status.”

California is not setting precedent. Several other states, including Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Washington, provide varying types of licenses for those without proof of legal residency.

The DMV has been issuing licenses to another group of formerly unauthorized immigrants. President Barack Obama gave special status to those between the ages of 15 and 30 brought to the U.S. as children, as long as they meet certain criteria.

Those who qualified received work authorization cards, which meant they are here legally in the eyes of the federal government and therefore are being issued licenses, according to the DMV.

For 65 years, California issued licenses without requiring proof of status. But in 1993, lawmakers reacted to a wave of anti-unauthorized immigrant sentiment and passed a law that required applicants to provide documentation.

Then-Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Democrat and now a Los Angeles city councilman, made several bids to change the law, including one measure that was signed by then Gov. Gray Davis in 2003. His victory was short-lived.

Davis, a Democrat, was kicked out of office a few months later in a recall campaign partly fueled by his signature on the license bill. A referendum to block the legislation was also under way at the time. Following the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, lawmakers repealed the measure before it could become law on Jan. 1, 2004.

The driver’s license measure was the highest profile of a handful of immigrant-rights bills majority Democrats approved in the Legislature this year with minimal Republican support.

Brown is also mulling measures to allow those here illegally to practice law and provide unauthorized immigrants with more safeguards against unscrupulous attorneys and consultants offering immigration services. Both of those bills are carried by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego.

Another bill would allow legal residents who are not citizens to serve on juries.